The Student Association is on pace to spend roughly half its entertainment budget this semester and half in the spring, a stark contrast to just two years ago when 75 percent of SA Entertainment's budget was spent on Fall Fest alone.
This year's Fall Fest, which featured Kanye West and was largely considered a success, cost SA almost 30 percent of its entertainment budget, totaling $232,754 after ticket revenue.
$162,000 of the net cost went towards West and his Touch the Sky Tour, which included Keyshia Cole and Fantasia. The three performers sold out Alumni Arena, something SA didn't even do for the popular Snoop Dogg, who headlined last semester's Spring Fest.
Two years ago, the price of this fall's three performers would have barely covered the cost of one headliner, as Godsmack alone cost $100,000 in 2003. SA still, however, paid more for West than some other schools.
Pennsylvania State University, where West's tour also performed in October, paid less than UB for the same concert, according to Bernie Punt, marketing director for Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.
Punt declined to disclose the exact cost but said Penn State was able to book West before he graced the cover of Time magazine and before the rap star's asking price rose like one of his hit songs up the charts.
SA Entertainment has also spent money this semester on Spirit Week, the homecoming carnival and the Caution Tour. With half its budget left for the spring, SA will be spending the rest of its cash on Spring Fest, the return of the DJ Series, at least one comedy act and a number of other smaller events.
SA President Dela Yador said it is too early to announce whom SA is considering for Spring Fest, but after consecutive hip-hop/rap shows, it will definitely be a rock and alternative concert.
Yador said SA is looking for rock bands comparable to Kanye West, who, unlike Snoop Dogg, came to UB in the middle of his prime as a performer and at the peak of his popularity. West originally asked for $200,000 just for himself without the tour, but Yador said SA balked at that price.
"For a tour, that made a lot more sense," he said. "We waited in the wings to see what would come up."
"We definitely worked hard and got a steal of a deal," Yador added.
As a non-profit organization, SA plans its budgets to break even, but Yador said there is no pressure to spend a certain amount of money on fest performers based on what they have left in the coffers.
"It's always what's the best bang for the buck," he said.
Although West, without the deposit, cost $120,000, the total cost of Fall Fest also reflects money spent on security, marketing, tee shirts, insurance, walkie-talkie rentals, and food for VIPs and stage crew, among other expenditures.
A significant part of the cost for this particular Fall Fest was for production and setup, which came to $33,668. West's stage, which took almost two days to set up, was the largest the CFA student crews have ever done for an SA fest.
"We ran a show that the (Madison Square) Garden could run," Yador said.
SA has run two hip-hop fests in a row because during the summer it was unable to land the kind of rock performers it wanted onstage. Often the rock fests are more complicated to put together because of clashing tour dates or conflicting sub-genres that don't mix well together.
"Hip hop is easier, to that extent, because you have a lot of people who rap and tour and don't cost a fortune," Yador said.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
